Chapter 18 Kaia
Kaia
Iwake slowly, awareness filtering in through layers of warmth and comfort that feel almost foreign after days of hard travel.
The bed beneath me is impossibly soft, the linens smooth against my skin, and there's an arm wrapped around my waist that anchors me to consciousness.
I stretch languidly, every muscle protesting the movement after so many days on horseback, and breathe in deeply.
"You smell good," I murmur, still half-asleep. Solace's scent surrounds me, familiar and grounding, but there's something else underneath it. Something that makes my body hum with recognition even through the fog of exhaustion.
"I think we found your Alphas, princess," Solace says quietly, her voice rumbling against my back where I'm pressed against her chest. "Queens of another kingdom, but definitely yours."
The words filter through my sleepy mind slowly, piecing together with fragmented memories. The scale. The overwhelming scent. Collapsing. Being carried. Two women with eyes that saw straight through me. My heart starts to beat faster as reality reasserts itself.
"Yours too," I say, turning in her arms to look at her face. She looks tired, shadows under her eyes that speak of a sleepless night spent watching over me. But there's something else there too, something that looks almost like wonder mixed with fear.
"No, baby," Solace says firmly, though I can hear the uncertainty underneath. "They're not mine. I'm a Beta. This prophecy, this bond, it's for you and them. I'm just here to protect you."
I start to argue, to tell her she's wrong, but then I catch movement across the room and my breath catches in my throat.
The two women from yesterday, the dragon queens, sit on a lounge at the edge of the bed.
They're even more breathtaking in the morning light than they were in my heat-addled memories.
The blonde one, Alessia I think she said her name was, is draped across the other queen's lap with casual intimacy.
She's wearing a flowing dress in pale blue that brings out the golden tones in her skin, and her hair falls in loose waves over her shoulders.
The sunlight streaming through the windows catches the honey highlights, making her look almost ethereal.
Her eyes are warm when they meet mine, soft brown with flecks of gold that seem to glow with their own light.
The other queen, Zara, sits with perfect posture despite having Alessia draped across her.
She's dressed more formally in dark pants and a fitted top that shows off her athletic build.
Her black hair is pulled back from her face, revealing sharp cheekbones and a strong jawline.
Her eyes are darker than Alessia's, almost black, but they hold the same warmth even if it's tempered with wariness.
There's power in the way she holds herself, command and authority that makes my Omega instincts want to submit even as another part of me bristles at the thought.
They're both stunning in completely different ways, and together they create a picture of such perfect balance that it makes my chest ache.
"Solace comes with me," I blurt out, the words tumbling over themselves. "We're a package deal. I won't stay if she has to leave. I won't bond with anyone who won't accept her too."
Alessia laughs, the sound dancing through the room. She sits up slightly, though she doesn't leave Zara's lap. "I have no intention of separating you two. The bond includes you both. We found both your scents, both your presences. You belong together."
"As long as Solace doesn't disrespect this kingdom, there's no reason to make her leave our bed," Zara adds, her voice calm and measured. Her hand rests possessively on Alessia's hip, fingers splayed across the fabric of her dress.
I feel heat flood my cheeks at the casual way she says our bed, like it's already decided, like I've already agreed to this.
I look between them, trying to process everything, trying to understand how my life went from being offered as a prize to suitors I didn't want, to this.
To two dragon queens casually discussing sharing their bed with me and my Beta.
I scramble to my feet, suddenly aware that I'm still in my travel-stained clothes, that I probably smell like days of riding and the Shadowlands and heat.
I bow my head out of respect, the way I was taught at court, but the movement is too fast and my vision swims. My legs, still weak from yesterday's collapse, buckle beneath me.
Alessia moves faster than I can track, suddenly there to catch me before I hit the floor.
One moment she's across the room, the next her arms are around me, steadying me against her chest. I sag against her, unable to help it, and her scent washes over me completely.
It's even better up close, warm and sweet with an underlying spice that makes my mouth water.
My body recognizes her on an instinctive level that bypasses all logic and reason.
She presses a kiss to the top of my head. "I've waited a long time for you," she murmurs against my hair. “And as our Omega, you don’t need to bow.”
She tightens her hold on me, holding me like I'm precious, like I'm worth waiting centuries for, and I don't know what to do with that. No one's ever held me like this except Solace. No one's ever made me feel like I was worth more than my title or my designation.
"We have much to discuss," Zara says, her voice cutting through the moment with gentle firmness. She hasn't moved from the lounge, still watching us with that careful intensity. "Especially when it comes to your kingdom sending people to kill ours."
I sit back slightly in Alessia's arms, confusion furrowing my brow.
"What do you mean? The challenge was to slay dragons for my hand, but I thought.
.." I trail off, really looking at Alessia for the first time.
Looking past her beauty to the small details I missed before.
The way her skin seems to shimmer slightly in the light, like there's something just beneath the surface.
The warmth that radiates from her, more than any human should produce.
The inhuman grace in how she moved to catch me.
Then I see it. The faint pattern of scales visible at her collarbone where her dress dips low, iridescent and beautiful. Orange and red and white.
"They're you," I breathe, my eyes wide. "The dragons. You..." I look at Zara, seeing it now in her too. The way her eyes seem to glow slightly, the barely visible shimmer of black and green scales at her wrists where her sleeves are pushed up. "You're the dragons we were supposed to slay."
Zara holds out her hand, and fire blooms in her palm. Small flames dance across her skin, illuminating the black scales that ripple across the back of her hand and up her forearm. They're beautiful and terrifying all at once, proof of power I can't even comprehend.
Solace starts forward immediately, a low growl building in her chest. Her protective instincts override everything else, moving to put herself between me and the perceived threat. I can feel her wolf rising to the surface and sense how close she is to shifting.
Zara extinguishes the flames with a thought, holding up both hands in a placating gesture.
"We mean no harm, but your kingdom and every single one like it does.
We're not monsters and we aren't brainless souls burning everything to a crisp.
You'll get nothing but pain if you take our heads, an entire army of angry dragons after you for killing one of our own.
Whoever started these silly rumors has only led to unnecessary death. "
All those suitors who went to challenge the dragons. All those Alphas who never returned. They weren't failing some noble quest. They were attacking people, trying to murder them in their homes, and getting killed in self-defense.
"How could they all be so wrong?" I whisper, my voice breaking. "How could my father send all those people to die for a lie?"
Alessia's arms tighten around me, offering comfort I don't deserve. "Fear," she says softly. "Fear and greed make people believe terrible things. Your kingdom wanted our wealth, our power. It's easier to justify taking those things if you believe we're monsters who don't deserve them."
My mind is racing, trying to reconcile everything I was taught with this new reality.
The dragons are people. Shifters like us, just a different kind.
They have homes and families and a kingdom to protect.
And we've been attacking them for years, sending warrior after warrior to try to kill them and steal what's theirs.
My father promised my hand as a reward for murder, and I didn't even question it because I was so focused on my own freedom.
"I'm so sorry," I manage, tears pricking at my eyes. "I didn't know. I should have questioned it, should have thought about what it meant, but I was so focused on escaping my father's control that I didn't think about the lives being destroyed in the process."
"You're not responsible for your father's choices," Zara says, echoing what Solace told me last night. "But you are here now, and what you choose to do with this knowledge matters."
I start to feel overwhelmed, the weight of everything crashing down on me all at once.
The lies I was raised on. The deaths my father caused.
The fact that I'm standing in the arms of one of the supposed monsters, and all I want is to stay there.
The prophecy and the bond and the impossible choice between the life I knew and this strange new future.
I pull away from Alessia gently, and she lets me go even though I can see the reluctance in her eyes.
I crawl back onto the bed where Solace waits with open arms, burrowing into her familiar embrace like I can hide from all of this.
She wraps around me immediately and I press my face against her shoulder, needing just a moment before I can focus on everything else.